7 days ago
Chief NT minister rejects independent Aboriginal death-in-custody probe
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Authorities push back on calls for an independent inquiry into an Alice Springs death in custody
The UN demands an independent probe into deaths at Gaza aid points
A new call for flares to be allowed back at Australian football games The Northern Territory's chief minister has rejected calls for an external inquiry into the death in custody of a young and mentally disabled Aboriginal man. Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy says an independent death in custody probe might be warranted. A lawyers' group has also called for an independent probe to investigate the Northern Territory government's failure to provide its duty of care to the man, who was on the NDIS and under state care. But Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro says police investigations of deaths in custody are appropriate, and that people can have full confidence in officers to do their job. The United Nations has called for an independent probe into civilians being harmed trying to access food in Gaza, after dozens of people were reportedly killed at an aid distribution point. Palestinian health officials say at least 27 people died and more than 90 were injured after Israeli forces fired on people waiting at the aid site for humanitarian assistance in Rafah. The Israeli army says it fired near a few individual suspects who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says there should be an immediate and independent investigation into the events to establish what happened. "The basic needs of the population in Gaza are enormous and are not being met. Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief for all civilians who need it. The unimpeded entry of humanitarian assistance at scale must be restored immediately." Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof says his coalition government will become a caretaker administration after populist nationalist MP Geert Wilders pulled his ministers out of the cabinet in a dispute about a migration crackdown. The decision means the Netherlands will have a caretaker government when it hosts a summit of leaders from the NATO military alliance in three weeks. The announcement has completed a day of political turmoil in The Hague, sparked by Mr Wilders' decision to turn his back on the ruling coalition. Mr Wilders says he told the Prime Minister his party was not willing to embrace his ideas of halting asylum migration, for which he had demanded immediate support last week. "I just informed the prime minister that I will withdraw the PVV ministers from the cabinet and that we can no longer bear responsibility for this. I signed for the strictest asylum policy, not for the downfall of the Netherlands. And our responsibility for this cabinet therefore also ends at this moment." A new report suggests Australia's charity sector has grown, driven by increasing demand. The 11th edition of the Australian Charities Report says 70,000 more people were employed in the not-for-profit sector in 2023 compared to the previous reporting period, which is 10.7 per cent of Australia's workforce. The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission regulates the sector, and Commissioner Sue Woodward says the additional staff is the result of trying to match greater demand for services, especially in food banks and crisis accommodation services. She says those organisations consistently report that cost of living pressures are driving higher demand, sometimes stretching capacity to the point where people seeking help have to be turned away. An influential economic organisation has commented on Australia's housing debate, urging governments to relax zoning restrictions to ease home prices. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development argues that easing zoning restrictions will strengthen competition and productivity, and raise housing investment to reverse the decline in affordability. The OECD says Australia's gross domestic product will grow at 1.8 per cent this year, down 10 basis points from its prediction in March as Donald Trump's tariffs hit demand for Australian exports, especially if China experiences a marked slowdown. The Paris-based policy forum says Australia needs to fix stagnating productivity growth and make housing more affordable to improve its outlook in the long term. To sport, Socceroos veteran player Milos Degenek says he wants to see flares allowed back at Australian football games, saying travelling teams now have it too easy due to fans being over-policed. Football Australia strictly bans flares and other pyrotechnics in and around stadiums, with perpetrators facing hefty bans. Degenek says the Socceroos have played before plenty of hostile crowds over the years in various World Cup qualifying campaigns.
He says Australian fans aren't given the scope to return the favour.
